Judge shelves Malaga fairground rape case

Published: 20 Aug 2014 14:29 GMT+02:00

A judge in Malaga has dropped a case against five young men arrested over an alleged rape during the city's annual fair on Sunday night, with lawyers for the youths now saying they will take legal action against the supposed victim.

The judge took the decision to shelve the case after hearing the suspects' version of events and seeing mobile phone footage of the event shot by one of the young men, local daily La Opinión de Málaga reported on Wednesday.

The lawyer working for the five youths — two of who were just 17 — said he would now take action against the woman for allegedly making a false accusation of rape.

The men were initially arrested after local police on Sunday morning found a young woman crying at the Malaga fairground.

She claimed to have been raped, but suspects have since told Spanish television stations that the sex was consensual.

After the incident, Francisco de la Torre, mayor of the southern Spanish city, was criticized for playing down the importance of the alleged crime by stating "there are more than a thousand rapes every year in Spain" and "let’s not give the impression that Malaga is unsafe".

The incident also comes during a week in which the Spanish government has come under fire for its anti-rape guidelines, which included advice such as telling women to close their curtains to thwart peeping toms.

"It’s a form of scaremongering, it puts the blame on women and it stops them from taking responsibility," tweeted Socialist Party equality spokeswoman Carmen Montón about the ruling party’s anti-rape advice sheet.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos on Monday said European Union officials are estimating that a hypothetical third bailout for Greece could amount to between €30 and 50 billion ($34-55 billion).
READ

Spanish property developer Martinsa Fadesa said on Monday it would file for liquidation bankruptcy in one of the country's biggest insolvencies, which comes as the sector shows signs of recovery from a 2008 real estate collapse.
READ

A spectacular villa in the hills overlooking Barcelona, that once sheltered the President of Catalonia as he attempted to flee Francoist forces, and was a favourite haunt of Montserrat Caballé, has come on the market.
READ

Germany on Monday angrily denounced Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for accusing eurozone partners Spain and Portugal of undermining his negotiations with Brussels, saying he had been out of line.
READ